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A brilliant play by Malcolm Borwick let them sneak the vital fifth goal with 15 seconds to play on the Jaeger Le Coultre scoreboard, and thus a rare victory against Habtoor. A game played at great pace with great skill by both teams.
Returning to Dubai for the 10th year, British Polo Day saw four teams battle it out for The VistaJet Cup and The Habtoor Plate. Over 250 top British and international players have played at British Polo Day since its inception, and this year attracted well known names from across the polo world, such as World Number One female player Nina Clarkin and her husband JP Clarkin, Captain of the New Zealand polo team; and Rashid Al Habtoor, leading Habtoor Polo this year.
Tom Hudson, Co Founder and Chairman of British Polo Day, said: “British Polo Day is incredibly honoured to be celebrating our 10th Dubai event. Our great partners – with over 2,000 years of combined heritage between them – say so much about the relationship building opportunities that British Polo Day creates. The CEO Ben Vestey and I are extremely proud that this event is taking place during the Year of Zayed, at a time of increasingly blossoming relations between UAE and the UK. So many exciting technological innovations are happening here, and we look forward to many more years of being at the heart of the action in UAE. We are hugely grateful to the Habtoor family for all their support.”
The British Exiles have never beaten Habtoor Polo in the nine years they’ve been playing, and despite the presence of Nina Clarkin and Malcolm Borwick, at half time it seemed that Habtoor Polo would be victorious with 3 goals to the stick of Guillermo Cuitino in the second period. The vital third chukka saw no score by either team, despite heavy pressure by Habtoor Polo on the British Exiles goal. It seemed a hill too steep to climb, but some brilliant work mid chukka by JP Clarkin saw them half a goal behind going into the last 30 seconds.
The success of the British Polo Day has been largely down to word of mouth endorsement from many guests and supporters including key figures in government, diplomats, military, fashion, art and popular culture. In addition, British Polo Day has hosted members of 12 royal families, 100 independent billionaires and leaders in world innovation including Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk. Over 20,000 guests have enjoyed British Polo Day in the last seven years, and British Polo Days have to date raised over $2 million USD, from the start in 2011.
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